Browsing: Marksmanship

A congressman told Gen. James Amos that Marines in his district would like to see their M9 service pistol replaced with a .45-caliber — and Amos replied that he would, too. Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., said he recently spent time with Marines during a wounded warrior function, during Wednesday’s House Armed Services Committee hearing on the proposed Navy-Marine Corps fiscal 2015 budget. Before the congressman launched into questions on the budget, he said there were a few those Marines asked him to speak up for. The first was the deadly A-10 Thunderbolt, which the Air Force flies to provide close-air support.…

The Marine Corps made a significant change in the fall, deciding to adopt a new common weapon sling for service rifles. That sling, as Marine Corps Times reported here, is the Vickers Combat Applications two-point sling, made by Blue Force Gear, of Pooler, Ga. It’s designed by Larry Vickers, a retired special operator well regarded for his innovation in the marksmanship world. Rob Curtis, Military Times’ Gear Scout blogger, ran into Vickers at SHOT Show this week. They discussed several items on video, including the new Marine Corps sling. Check it out here: [brightcove video=”1401244280001″ /]

By now, you may have seen Marine Corps Times’ coverage of a controversial report filed last year by the service’s Operations Analysis Division assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the Marine Corps Marksmanship Program. As my story points out, Weapons Training Battalion, out of Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., took exception to some of the findings by OAD, which falls under Marine Corps Combat Development Command, also out of Quantico. Four major recommendations were made: Develop a new organization to oversee all marksmanship training, embark on a substantial range upgrade plan, remove rifle scores from the promotion process and overhaul annual…